Just before sleep [drama review]

Still, James. Just Before Sleep. Dramatic, 1998. ISBN 0-87129-779-5. 69 pp.” 5-8 Reviewed by Megan Ann Scott Gently, James Still creates the fragile world of a family of three who is “down on their luck” and living on the streets. The mother, Sonia, tries desperately to hold her family together after their apartment burned down and their father is killed in the fire. The boy, 14-year-old Justin, adopts many of his father’s mannerisms, such as chewing gum and listening to opera. Withdrawn and unwilling to share his feelings about the fire and his father’s death, Justin rejects the social worker and everyone else, and turns to a man of the street for direction. Meanwhile, he still tries to fit in with a boy his same age in school. Justin is torn between wanting to live a normal life, and taking care of his sister and mother. His conflict is heightened when Tara, his ten-year-old sister, doubles over with stomach pain and must be taken to the hospital. When the first hospital refuses to help the family without insurance, Justin must do all that he can to guarantee that his sister gets the hospital to care for her bleeding ulcer. In a carefully crafted climax, Justin races through the city in a non-lucid state trying to find his dead father. He relives the final moments when he last saw his father. The threads of storyline and characters weave together in a fluid manner with smooth, connecting scene changes, and creates a cross-stitch image of what homelessness is really like and the important role of sticking together. Just Before Sleep is a powerful piece, recommended for professional theaters or very experienced amateur groups. The characters are well developed. The playwright unfolds the story a little at a time, and in doing so keeps the audience wrapped in what the characters are doing and what will come next. The pace is driving as characters enter one scene while the action is taking place in order to change scenes and continue the action. The strong writing of Still, characteristic of his other works, draws vivid images through the use of symbolism, repetition, movement, and lyric verse. The required city sounds and effects and the beginning and the end of the show might need special attention, but other costumes and set pieces should be easy to supply.

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Still, James. Just Before Sleep. Dramatic, 1998. ISBN 0-87129-779-5. 69 pp.” 5-8 Reviewed by Megan Ann Scott Gently, James Still creates the fragile world of a family of three who is “down on their luck” and living on the streets. The mother, Sonia, tries desperately to hold her family together after their apartment burned down and their father is killed in the fire. The boy, 14-year-old Justin, adopts many of his father’s mannerisms, such as chewing gum and listening to opera. Withdrawn and unwilling to share his feelings about the fire and his father’s death, Justin rejects the social worker and everyone else, and turns to a man of the street for direction. Meanwhile, he still tries to fit in with a boy his same age in school. Justin is torn between wanting to live a normal life, and taking care of his sister and mother. His conflict is heightened when Tara, his ten-year-old sister, doubles over with stomach pain and must be taken to the hospital. When the first hospital refuses to help the family without insurance, Justin must do all that he can to guarantee that his sister gets the hospital to care for her bleeding ulcer. In a carefully crafted climax, Justin races through the city in a non-lucid state trying to find his dead father. He relives the final moments when he last saw his father. The threads of storyline and characters weave together in a fluid manner with smooth, connecting scene changes, and creates a cross-stitch image of what homelessness is really like and the important role of sticking together. Just Before Sleep is a powerful piece, recommended for professional theaters or very experienced amateur groups. The characters are well developed. The playwright unfolds the story a little at a time, and in doing so keeps the audience wrapped in what the characters are doing and what will come next. The pace is driving as characters enter one scene while the action is taking place in order to change scenes and continue the action. The strong writing of Still, characteristic of his other works, draws vivid images through the use of symbolism, repetition, movement, and lyric verse. The required city sounds and effects and the beginning and the end of the show might need special attention, but other costumes and set pieces should be easy to supply.

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